Wii U specs leak, only 8GB of storage

Core specifications for the forthcoming Nintendo Wii U console have been leaked online, and the main shock is that there will only be 8GB of internal storage.

Instead, Nintendo will rely on the tried and trusted SD card slot to increase storage capacity, asking gamers to fork out extra for SD or SDHC memory cards. The Wii U will be compatible with SD cards up to 2GB in size, SDHC cards up to 32GB.

The specs were sent to gaming website VGleaks by an anonymous source, and are claimed to include some from Nintendo developers-only resource, warioworld.com. Many of the stats confirm what we already knew, but its handy to get a better idea of the components as Nintendo is usually so guarded about its internal workings.

If the source is correct, there will be an "Espresso" CPU running the show, with three enhanced Broadway cores. Graphics are provided using a "GPU7" AMD Radeon-based High Definition GPU.

There's 1GB of RAM on board that applications can use. And, as well as providng an SD card slot, the console will connect to an external hard drive through USB. There will be four USB 2.0 ports in total.

Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g/n) will be built-in as standard. There's no word at present on whether it will also feature an Ethernet port for wired internet connectivity.

In other Nintendo Wii U news, Nintendo itself is hosting another Nintendo Direct live video stream event online (the last was to announce the 3DS XL) tomorrow (13 September) at 3pm (GMT). Nintendo of Europe president Satoru Shibata will take a closer look at the upcoming console and you can tune in to watch.